By Marvin Scott
PIX11 NEWS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Why do centenarians reach the milestone age usually cancer free, while others of advanced age do not? That question is at the core of studies being undertaken by a new partnership between the Samuel Waxman Institute for Aging & Cancer, affiliated with the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, specifically dedicated to tackling the single greatest risk factor for cancer---aging.
Dr. Waxman, Director of the Waxman Institute says he’s alarmed by the rising number of cancer cases among people over the age of 50. According to him 90% of cancers currently occur in people in that age group. With the worldwide population over 50 expected to exceed three billion by 2050, Dr. Waxman cautions, “Without addressing the aging process now, the incidence of cancer will continue to rise.”
The Waxman Institute working with the Mark Foundation has expanded the group’s portfolio and they are now funding nine collaborative projects dealing with aging and cancer biology.
Dr. Waxman notes, “This area of research is especially important because it has the potential to advance not only strategies for treating and preventing cancer, but also approaches to addressing the underlying biological processes of aging itself. The Institutes ultimate goal, he adds, is healthier aging with less cancer, improving both longevity and the quality of life.
Studies have already determined that the risk of developing cancer is highest among people between the ages of 60 to 85. For example, Dr. Waxman points out, “The risk of developing cancer is 11 times higher in people over 65, most notably, breast, colorectal and prostate account for 60% of all cancers in that age range.”
Remarkably, for reasons to be studied, the risk diminishes in the age group 85 and beyond. Non-cancerous healthy centenarians could unlock the key to understanding and treating certain conditions in younger adults to prevent a future onset of cancer. Dr. Waxman says this will be one of the key areas of research, stating, “We need a way to recognize early on what is the aging risk for cancer just like we talk about the aging risk factor for heart disease.”
The Waxman Institute has announced a 2027 request for proposals centered on targeting aging inflammation, one of the key biological drivers of cancer. Such projects are expected to build upon the work already being supported by the Institute and Mark Foundation to diminish aging related inflammation, restore the immune system and improve cancer treatment outcomes.
Inflammation in the aging body is a key to understanding the development of cancer.
Dr. Waxman explains,
“As individuals age, the immune system not only loses its ability to kill tumor cells but also causes inflammation that promotes cancer. Additionally, mutations in normal cells increase with age. They fail to get repaired, leading to cancer."
He further explains that one of the reasons the immune system is compromised with aging is the release of certain genetic information that occurs in immune cells as you age. Dr. Waxman, who is credited with developing a life-saving leukemia treatment in collaboration with Chinese researchers, is now dedicated to finding the still elusive link between cancer and aging, and ways to effectively treat it before it develops into malignancy.
At the core of the aging process are the body’s cells. In cellular biology, senescent cells are those that have permanently lost their ability to divide. They often accumulate in tissues with age and they can contribute to tissue dysfunction or inflammation. Substances that cause inflammation can injure normal cells including the immune system which becomes unable to carry out its normal function to protect the body from infection, and against cancer. Medical evidence has shown that older people with an aging immune system cannot fight cancer as well as a younger person. So, targeting these cells is considered a potential therapeutic strategy for aging-related diseases.
One of the important goals of the Waxman Institute is to try to restore the immune system in an older person, a necessity in order for currently used immune therapies to work effectively. According to Dr. Waxman, “There is evidence that this can be achieved when you treat cancer in an older person, and you can rejuvenate an aging immune system. He points out that over the past 10 to 15 years more than 50 different treatments have been developed to treat various forms of cancer, therapies known as checkpoint inhibitors. They’re designed to unlock and reactivate the immune system. That is seen as one of the key solutions to overcoming the aging immune system…as well as inhibiting inflammation to control cancer, and killing mutant immune cells that cause leukemia.
Dr. Waxman says the Institute is committed to creating a clinically useful algorithm to measure aging and cancer risk at an early age. He asks, “What is it in aging that is responsible for the rising incidents of cancer as one gets older?” Aging tissues in the body are one source of the study, in an effort to determine a cancer risk.
In addition to reaching out and offering grants to researchers for their study team, the Waxman-Mark Institute team is also utilizing Artificial Intelligence in its search for answers. Dr. Waxman recently testified before a New York State legislative committee about the need for funding for A I research on ways to stem the dramatic rise in cancer cases throughout the state. According to Dr. Waxman there are an enormous number of reports on aging and just as many reports on cancer. That information could be a valuable source for researchers trying to unlock the questions surrounding cancer and aging.
The ultimate goal of the Waxman Institute and Mark Foundation is to prevent the rising incidence of cancers in an aging population. Part of that mission includes developing safe and more effective targeted therapies that decrease the inflammation that promotes cancer, and to apply knowledge to stop cancers before they occur. As a physician-scientist Dr. Waxman says his dream is for a healthy world with less cancer.
To learn more about the research visit
https://www.waxmaninstitute.org/